Falling For The Nerd

Extra I

Here you go peeps. Enjoy!!!
DEREK'S POV:

I was at Leo's place with a bowl of popcorn and two cans of beer in front of me. The television flickered as an advertisement played on screen. The man's lips moved without any sound coming out of his mouth because I had muted it. Leo pulled the edges of his t-shirt as he came and sat next to me. He un-muted the TV and took a sip from his can of beer. We sat in silent excitement as the players lined up on the field. This was going to be an intense match- Manchester United versus Manchester City. "You ready Fields?" Leo said as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "You bet, Rivera." I grinned. Melissa had the night shift at the University dispensary tonight and Aria had gone home to visit her dad. So it was very easy for Leo and I to arrange this. I grabbed a handful of popcorn and sat back to watch the match.

At half-time I muted the show and asked, "Leo how did you plan your proposal to Aria?" "I actually took a long time to decide if it was something I really wanted." Leo said, his eyes glued to the TV. I mentally put a tick mark on that criteria. I was very clear that I wanted this. "And?" I prompted. "Well, then I made sure that our families were okay with it. I know that some people wait for a while before telling the parents, but Aria is really attached to her dad. And the moment he said that he was fine with it, I got the ring." Leo said. Parents, check. I don't mean to brag or anything, but Lizzie's parents love me. And mom is the one who actually made me think about this. The ring...I didn't have a ring.

"Man, I don't have a ring." I said and Leo looked at me sharply. "You're proposing to Lizzie?" He asked. "Yeah!" I said excitedly. "Dude, I know nothing about rings." Leo said sympathetically. "What did you give Aria?" I asked. "My grandma's ring. Grandma didn't mind." Leo added when he saw my face. I imagined Leo pulling the ring off his grandmother's hand, putting it on Aria's and then firmly saying, "What's done is done." I stopped the awful animation in my head and asked, "So what am I supposed to do?" "Tell you what, go talk to Remy." Leo said and turned the volume back on.

I walked into the kitchen and dialled Remy's number. I counted upto 35 when Remy picked up the phone. "Hello?" Remy asked and I could hear the scream of her almost-two-year-old daughter Daphne in the background. "Hey Remy. Derek here." I said and winced as Daphne let out another ear-piercing scream. "Hey Derek, just give me a moment. Robert, leave your sister alone!" There was a moment of silence. "Yeah tell me." Remy said. "Yeah. I needed your advice." I said and explained the situation to her. "Okay so here's an idea. I will be dropping Rob and Daphne at Mike's mom's place in about half-an-hour. How about I pick you up and we go to shop for a ring?" Remy suggested and I felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest.

"Oh great. Thanks Remy!" I smiled and ended the call. Then I ran back to the living room and jumped on the couch to watch the rest of the match. An hour later, I was in Remy's car and we were heading to the jeweller from whom Remy had gotten her and Mike's wedding rings. "So why this particular jeweller?" I asked as Remy parked. "Because, he always gives good deals. I mean, yeah, it's love and you shouldn't cut back on anything. But really, give your wife a chance to spend all your money after your married." Remy gave me a look and I grinned. "C'mon." Remy said and I followed her into the store.

A man in a crisp suit led us to a counter and I looked down the glass panel at numerous rings. "Oh man, this is going to be hard." I muttered to Remy, who merely laughed at my state. There were all types of rings there- gold, silver, platinum, some with blue stones, others with green stones, yellow stones, diamonds, rubies. Thin rings, thick rings, flashy ones, subdued ones, ridiculously flattery ones, simple ones....it was like the universe. Never ending.

"How am I going to choose?" I asked, perplexed. "Well, you could start by giving me your budget sir." The salesman advised. "Yeah, my budget is two and a half thousand?" I said and Remy gave me a surprised look. "I've been saving for almost a year. Also I recently got a bonus from Dr.Marks." I said to Remy. Doctor Marks was the lawyer who had taken me under his wing once I had graduated. He had a baby girl last month and to celebrate he had given us all a bonus of a hundred dollars. He's awesome. And rich. Like my dad who refuses to give me anymore pocket money, because I'm a grown up.